New US Law Calls for Oil, Gas, Mining Companies to Release Independently Audited Regular Reports to the Securities & Exchange Commission on Payments to Foreign Governments - Major Victory for the Publish What You Pay Campaign...see CSR Standards
Genocide in Sudan - Decision by the International Criminal Court - July 12, 2010 - "Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a second warrant of arrest against the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, considering that there are reasonable grounds to believe him responsible for three counts of genocide committed against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, that include: genocide by killing, genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm and genocide by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction."
GLOBAL PEACE INDEX 2010 I The new indexpoints to a less safe world. New Zealand seen most at peace, Afghanistan trails ranking of 149 countries...see International Surveys
From the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: Total global military expenditure in 2009 is estimated to have been $1,531 billion. This represents an increase of 6% in real terms compared to 2008, and of 49% since 2000. Military expenditure comprised approximately 2.7% of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009. All regions and subregions saw an increase in 2009, except the Middle East.
VISION 2050 from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development lays out a pathway leading to a global population of some 9 billion people living well, within the resource limits of the planet by 2050. The authors state that this work results from an 18-month combined effort with CEOs and experts, and dialogues with over 200 companies and external stakeholders in some 20 countries..see Views & Analysis
NEW ERA OF SUSTAINABILITY - UN Global Compact/Accenture –“the largest such study of CEOs ever conducted on the topic of sustainability.” - 93 percent of CEOs see sustainability as important to their company’s future success. ...see CSR surveys & Trends.
THE PARADOX OF WEALTH THAT CREATES POVERTYIn 2008, Africa exported oil and minerals worth $393 billion. This is nearly
nine times the amount the continent received in international aid ($44
billion). This paradox sits at the heart of Global Witness’s work - Global Witness's Annual Review.
The 1984 Bhopal calamity
Mindful of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster it is enlightening to recall the greatest of all corporate humanitarian tragedies. Article by S. Viswanathan the Hindu, India - excerpt
With a former Chairman of Union Carbide India Limited, Keshub Mahindra, and seven others convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment by a trial court, the 26-year-old Bhopal tragedy case has reached a new stage.
The long wait for the families of thousands of victims who were either killed or seriously injured by toxic gas that leaked from the Union Carbide's chemical pesticide plant has not brought justice to these people, most of who are poor. This is a heart-rending case of justice delayed, justice denied. The subject therefore is back in the arena of public discussion.
Moves are on to take the issue to higher courts, either in India or the United States or both. Meanwhile questions are being raised and discussed over the whereabouts of Union Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson, the principal accused in the case and a proclaimed absconder. A hot question raised is who facilitated the escape of Anderson who visited Bhopal a couple of days after the disaster after being assured of “safe passage.” He was arrested along with a few other executives of Union Carbide but freed and allowed to return to the United States.
The main issue
The key issue, as it often happens, is being sidetracked: it is the accountability and culpability of those in Bhopal and New Delhi who made the critical decisions preceding and following the calamity....
ERC Setting The Right Leadership Values is Crucial for Ethics in the Workplace. ERC study shows that employees take cues from top management, pressure from peers to do the right thing...see ERC Surveys
Carnegie Council's Journal Ethics & International Affairs Volume 24.2 (Summer 2010) can now be downloaded free.
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ETHICS OF LOBBYING - MORE TROUBLE FOR BP AS ITS LIBYAN CONNECTIONS REVEALED
The New York Times reported July 15, 2010, that BP has publicly confirmed that it lobbied the UK Government of then Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the release of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, who was in prison in Scotland for the 1988 Lockerbie plane bomombing that killed 270 people. The Government released the prisoner and sent him back to Libya last year claiming his acute illness gave him just 3 months to live - he is still alive today. Meanwhile, BP's efforts related to its negotiations with the Government of Libya over a $900 million offshore oil
and gas exploration and development deal. The US Senate is investigating.
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Thurgood Marshall Jr., son of legendary US Supreme Court Justice and a former White House legal advisder joins the Board of Directors of the US Ethics Resource Center.
Marshall is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Bingham McCutchen LLP.served as assistant to the President and Cabinet secretary to President Clinton from 1997 to 2001. Earlier in the Administration, he was director of legislative affairs and deputy counsel to Vice President Gore.
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TRUST ....Viewpoint from Frank C. Bucaro
"Is Trust Taking a Hit?" asks this US ethics commentator.
He suggests: “Is it just me, or is trust “taking a hit” lately? How about the lead story of the past several weeks; Do you feel the information released has been 100% accurate on the situation in the Gulf of Mexico? How about politics? Do you feel totally confident about the accuracy of information circulated by political candidates? What about consumer products? Do you ever question the safety or effectiveness of a product, even if backed by a big name brand? How about your healthcare provider? Ever questioned a diagnosis or treatment plan?”
Bucaro draws attention to the need to “Pay attention to your Moral Compass!” Find the full article at his website.
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And talking about trust..... DENNY SWENSON,Executvie Producer of Lighthouse Productions, has made a thought-provoking documentary on business ethics. Key questions about the need to build trust in American corporations are put by University of Pennsylvania, Wharton Schoiol ethics Professor Tom Donaldson to an array of experts. The most facinating interview involves Aaron Beam, the former finance director of Health South, who went to prison for cooking the books.
The TV program, shown earlier this year on US public television (learn more - click here) asserts that. "Every day in corporations around the world, careers, capital and time-honored brands that may have taken decades to build are put at risk. Because – as a never-ending stream of news stories keeps proving – corporate ethics scandals can sweep them away in the blink of a news cycle."
While the experts agree on the range of risks involved and the critical importance of good corporate ethics, the film provided few practical and fresh answers. Nor did it raise the key issue of the huge gap in the US between top compensation and average pay, which for many workers is seen as an ethical issue. Nor, did it bore down into the key finding of many Ethics Resource Center surveys that the CEO must provide, every minute of the day, model ethical leadership.
Key point -- more documentaries of this kind are needed to take business ethics from the sidelines into the mainstream.
Students, business owners, researchers and all avid news readers will find something fresh, relevant and interesting on the pages of ethicsworld.org. Our site links to the latest articles on corporate social responsibility, basic corporate governance, corporate corruption and countless other topics related to the way today's companies are exhibiting evidence or deficiencies of reliable, ethical leadership. In addition to fresh business ethics articles, ethicsworld.org also posts detailed results of annual surveys that reveal how the business code of ethics is being implemented around the world. Everything from essays discussing ethical theories on bribery to hard news on corporate compliance and ethics can be found right here in one organized, easy to use resource. Bookmark our site now and continue exploring ethicsworld.org for more information and the key business insights that change the world we live in on a daily basis.
New US Law Calls for Oil, Gas, Mining Companies to Release Independently Audited Regular Reports to the Securities & Exchange Commission on Payments to Foreign Governments - Major Victory for the Publish What You Pay Campaign
